Happy birthday with deliciousness

Tuesday, June 11, 2024

We pass an old Toyota Kijang pickup. It's square, inelegant, and chugging along after decades of use. It's transported chairs to the community center for a wedding.

I'm checking for a certain photo when I come across this Before & After in our Kenmore house. What a difference a few accessories make! I painted the orchid in England in my first "loose painting" course. Not a great first attempt but it suits the room.

In our yard, the yardman is digging up turmeric. It grows quickly so the clump is taking over the back garden.

He chopped the leaves off last week and the tubers come out today. A smaller clump is left nearby. There are many pounds (kg) of the tubers - We keep 1 kg (2.2 lb) for the house; the rest is split between helpers.

PakAD is trimming tall stalks of bamboo by the gate. He trims stems for a grape trellis; the grapevines were a gift from Angie's husband before they repatriated to Germany.

I have a long list of books to review. My goal is 10 reviews/day. There can be weeks between bursts of reading specifically for reviews. You can read the reviews here. (If you don't find something of interest, scroll through the index on the right.)

When I scan the index, I see books I've browsed but want to read thoroughly. On flights to and from Canada or the USA, I indulge myself in a handful of books rather than torturing myself with sleeplessness.

We have team meeting this afternoon, our final one with our graduates. 

The end of the school year is heart wrenching and a cheering session in one. We are excited for what God will do through these grads and missing them already as they go home. Shibli passes his finals in the evening with flying colors! Hurrah.

Wednesday - Happy Birthday, Waldemar

Is that a flap of paper or leaf on the street? A closer look reveals a moth.

W and I start his birthday celebration with breakfast at Nara at 7:00 a.m.

I have to read some books for an upcoming class. The publishers have granted me 7 more books that will be published later this year. My obligation is to write a quick review for each. I write, trim my hair, and attend a helpful online meeting. Ibu Siti tortures me with a deep tissue massage to round out the morning. Ouch. 

Our houseguest Eki heads to the train station with his backpack and the bookends for his school. They're solid, commercial, and heavy. IbuS washed them yesterday. "They're very old," she notes.

W has chosen WindChime for his birthday lunch. He loves their mashed potatoes, combined with melted cheese and cream.

We share a mushroom tart = very good.

We order a scallop appetizer. I don't like it much and apparently the two scallops cost more than our entrees! What? The pansy is pretty though.

My entree is a creamy pasta dish. I eat about half and take the rest home.

The restaurant treats us to a lava cake, a scoop of ice cream, dots of strawberry puree, and chopped nuts.

When we dig in, the warm chocolate drips from the spoon.

We buy W's favorite cake from a bakery downtown and pick up Alice for a joint visit to R, who is in the hospital. We're home about 4:00 p.m. I bring about 100 Hardy Boys and Nancy Drew books from an upstairs shelf to the new bookshelves.

The helpers will wipe down the books over the next weeks. I have one more room of books to clear. That will fill the shelves and they might as well all be cleaned together.

Thursday 

We're doing the River Walk this morning since we're the only ones hiking. It's school vacation and many people are already traveling. No dogs are allowed on the Treetop Walk so PakG takes them around the neighborhood. 

We set off at 6:30 and are home before 10:00. Perfect schedule. As we walk down to the riverside, I spot [how many?] layers of paving in one patch.

The drainage canal above the river is almost empty.

Besides geese grubbing in the mud, there are thousands upon thousands of fish fry (see the dots in the silt?) eating mosquito larvae. Good thing. Dengue fever is going around again.

The city has thoughtfully put in disability strips in the middle of sidewalks. Unfortunately you still need help or the walk is a hazard.

I marvel at the GoJeks (motorcycle taxis) who come into villages like this one to pick up passengers. It's a 3' (1 meter) width at this point with a plunge to the canal on one side and sometimes a steep drop-off on the other. Pedestrians step aside so the rider and passenger can chug past, like they've done hundreds of times before.

The wildflowers are blooming in yellows, greens, and whites this morning.

W and I cross to the university park but the gates to the TreeTop Walk are locked. "We're doing maintenance all day," says the worker. Ok, so we stroll on the university paths. 

There are bronze statues between restaurants beside the parking lot.

We make a few loops around the 400m (1/4 mile?) track. Some women are fully covered (HOT! out) while their husbands trot along in shorts and t-shirts. We meet DrG, who introduces her friends. Though the photo below seems empty, there are hundreds of people on the track and exercising in the pull-ups, step-ups, and a large group doing stretches.

We're walking to breakfast when the kids call to wish Opa a happy birthday. When the grandkids call, you pause everything and listen.

Breakfast ($4.00 each) is spicy, delicious, and flavorful Sundanese food at #Dalaraos.

One buffet counter is downstairs, mostly for takeaway. It's also full upstairs where we eat, using another buffet line. Tea is on the house.

The views are typically Bandung - lots of green between red-rooted buildings that are wedged wall on wall.

W inquires about takeaway. Everyone stops to listen to the foreigner negotiate his way through a conversation. (I'm taking the photo from the staircase, wondering how long before we eat.)

W hops out of the car partway home to get a $1 haircut. For me, it's a shower, a pause, and some writing. We send birthday cookies into town for a friend. What a good morning.

Read more:

*But I trust in your unfailing love; my heart rejoices in your salvation. I will sing the Lord’s praise, for he has been good to me. Psalm 13:5-6

*As my life was ebbing away, I remembered the Lord, and my prayer came to you. Jonah 2:7 (had more about Jonah' story? Jonah 2:7)

*Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. Philippians 4:6

Moravian Prayer: Comforting Presence, when the storms of life assail us, may we remember that you are as near as an open heart and a heartfelt prayer. As the tempests roar without or within us, as we turn to you, may we be confident that we will find grace and strength sufficient to our need. In Jesus’ name, we pray. Amen.